1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wooden cutting board commonly used in the preparation of food, and more specifically, to a wooden cutting board utilizing a plurality of insertable non-skid traction plates that sufficiently raise the cutting board above a countertop surface and provide spaced, frictional surface projections to insure non-slip traction during the cutting process, even on wet surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cutting boards are well known in the art and are primarily designed to provide a separate rigid surface on which to cut food while protecting the countertop surface from being marred by a knife. The use of wood for the cutting board has been traditional. Wood is a viable material as a cutting board because it is rigid but softer than the knife blade material preventing damage to the sharpness of the knife blade. Wood is also decorative.
Cutting food stuffs on a kitchen countertop can be a potentially dangerous task, i.e. using a sharp knife or cleaver in one hand with pressure against often times frozen, hard, slippery or cumbersome items held in the other hand, often in a wet environment created from liquids seeping from items during the cutting process and invariably without use of any safety or protective equipment or gear. The household kitchen countertop is the most frequent surface on which the cutting board is placed. A flat wooden cutting board mounted against a dry or wet formica countertop can be hazardous and prone to movement of the cutting board during the act of cutting. On dry or wet surface, small area traction feet mounted on a cutting board are ineffective. It is Applicant""s position that there is not enough traction surface area with three or four small feet on one side of a cutting board, to make much of a difference. It is also important that in dealing with a wet surface area for mounting the board, there should be sufficient space under the board for liquid to escape away from the traction surfaces into adjacent areas.
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a wooden cutting board with a plurality of improved traction forming plates, each strategically mounted on the bottom of the board for stability and traction. Each traction plate has an array of non-skid projections that are spaced apart, allowing liquids compressed by each projection to escape around the projection so as to not interfere with the traction process. The non-skid projections have flat end surface areas or an array of edges to engage the counter top surface, directly resulting in a large cumulative contact/non-skid surface area to prevent movement of the cutting board, even on wet countertops.
Parameters to be reviewed for providing maximum traction for the cutting board on a dry or wet surface would include the surface area of each traction projection, total area of all traction projections, geometric spatial orientation of each projection, the quantity and spacing between the traction projections and the overall surface area provided for by all traction projections and the surface non traction open area adjacent the traction projections that allow liquids to escape.
The cutting boards shown in the prior art fail to address this hazard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,294 issued to Bodomolny discloses a cutting board with a replaceable cutting surface and small traction elements in the form of rubber feet individually attached along the bottom surface of the board. Very little traction is provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,759 to Potter discloses a cutting board with a spiked platform to engage and retain food to be cut, a knife blade guide, a plurality of channeled depressions on the top surface for the temporary retention of juices and food related debris as opposed to the present invention""s raised bottom surface for traction and to prevent slippage created by the planing effect of accumulated fluid in direct contact with the cutting board. Although Potter addresses a retaining element, the device only applies to the item to be cut as opposed to restricting movement of the cutting board apparatus on the countertop.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,022 to Gibson discloses a rectangular cutting board with a leveling member composed of small flexible friction material such as rubber feet, located at the four corners of the board. The present invention enhances traction by increasing the number of surface area contacts with a plurality of flexible projections which extend from multiple plates positioned for stability on the underside of the cutting board, also significantly elevating the cutting board assembly above the countertop so as to accommodate the distribution of liquid underneath the cutting board while maintaining stability and non-slippage of the cutting board.
The need arises not only for a cutting board which diminishes the potential for slippage of the board and thus reduces potential for physical injury but also uses a traction member which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture having a plurality of friction contacts to enhance surface area traction in an elevated fashion thereby diminishing the planing effect which occurs when the entire planar baseboard of the cutting board is exposed to the physical presence of liquid. There is further need for a cutting board which is portable, stable, lightweight, structurally simple, economical to manufacture and for consumer to purchase, durable, easy to use, clean and store, and requires no assembly or other equipment.
In these respects, the elevated non-slip wooden cutting board according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of enhancing safety by providing a plurality of surface area traction contacts to retard slippage of the board during the cutting process.
A wooden cutting board, for inhibiting movement or slippage on the countertop surface, which is elevated from the surface upon which it rests by the use of a plurality of friction enhancing projections which grip the underlying countertop surface and which are attached to plates which are attached to the bottom of the cutting board.
The cutting board is preferably rectangular in shape (other shapes are feasible) and formed by a cutting board body and in the preferred embodiment four rigid plastic traction plates. The board body is preferably formed from wood (although other suitable materials such as plastic, acrylic, polyethlene, polypropylene, vinyls or other durable, inexpensive, lightweight materials should be considered within the scope of the invention).
Each traction plate is a thin rigid molded plastic plate having on one side three elongated legs, each leg having a plurality of somewhat flexible, circular disks mounted thereto, each perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the leg, each of the disks being sufficiently small in diameter and flexible to fit snugly into pre-drilled cylindrical holes mounted on one side of the cutting board body, adjacent to each corner. The purpose of the elongated legs and disks are to attach firmly (preferably without glue) the traction plate to the cutting board at each corner. Each traction plate is held in place against the board by the frictional engagement of the three elongated legs and the flexible and resilient disks mounted at the end of each leg in each cylindrical hole in the board body. The attachment legs extend from the upper surface of the plate.
A rubber, rubber-like, or thermo-plastic elastomer (TPE) friction pad is co-molded or over-molded to the bottom surface of the plate. The friction pad includes multiple projections, each having a pre-determined geometrical shape and a flat surface area to contact the counter surface. The bottom surfaces of the projections comprise flat, rubber-like frictional surfaces forming a pattern of friction surface areas that are spaced apart a pre-determined amount to allow liquid to flow in between. In one pattern, the projections could be hexagonal in shape and spaced apart by approximately one-half inch from each other.
The traction plates are positioned preferrably at the corners of the cutting board for the greatest stability. Each plate is preferably shaped like a right triangle. Other plate shapes could be employed such as thin rectangular plates near two or more side parallel to the sides, along the width or length of the board. A non-skid surface pad is thermally co-molded (or over-molded) on each traction plate to provide the non-skid projections. The co-molded (or over-molded) pad is constructed from a thermo plastic elastomer or other soft resilient material that has a high coefficient of friction relative to surfaces such as formica, tile or wooden countertops. The array of projections on the pad extend at a substantially ninety degree angle in the preferred embodiment from the bottom of each traction plate. The projection shapes could also be truncated cones, saw tooth, trapezoids or other polygons having surface areas that frictionally engage a counter top with spacing between the projections. Each projection is raised in height approximately 0.25xe2x80x3 and is hexagonal in shape.
Each projection is of a sufficient height that allows counter top liquids to flow around the projections. Raising the cutting board above the underlying support surface provides a volume above the countertop surface which is free to accommodate juices and fluids flowing from the cut items, thus avoiding the planing effect which results when a film of liquid is in direct contact with the planar surface of the cutting board body. This reduces the chance for slipping and the potential for physical injury. Additionally, the weight of the cutting board and its contents are concentrated upon the flat projection surface areas that extend from each pad maximizing the gripping power of each projection.
A plurality of at least nine or more non-skid flat end projections per support plate is preferred, depending on the overall dimensions of the plate and the board. Larger support plates are used for larger cutting boards and correspondingly a larger number of larger projections are provided for greater surface area. The total plate area per board could be at least ten percent of the board total surface area for stability and traction.
In an alternate embodiment, the cutting board may be any shape and traction plates and non-skid pads are provided at a plurality of positions along the perimeter of the cutting board. The traction plates can be shaped as squares, rectangles, or other shapes for stability along the bottom surface of the board.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cutting board with gripping action to reduce board movement and slippage to enable safer cutting of items.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide an easy to construct and economical to manufacture, lightweight, sturdy, portable, and easy to clean wooden cutting board.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight, wooden cutting board that is constructed to firmly but temporarily adhere to the countertop to prevent slippage of the cutting board during the cutting process, yet not mar the countertop.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cutting board which has an array of spaced apart non skid support projections and is raised sufficiently off of the countertop as to provide an area underneath the cutting board for excess juice or other liquids to flow unimpeded thereby reducing another source of slippage of cutting board.
In accordance with these and other objects that will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.